ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - Amid accusations of conflict of interest, Pakistan’s chief justice announced Thursday that he was removing himself from a panel investigating corruption accusations against his son and announced the formation of a two-member bench to look into the accusations.

The announcement by the chief justice, Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, was made the day after his son, Arsalan Chaudhry, came to court to deny rumors that he had accepted bribes worth $3 million to $4 million from a powerful real estate tycoon with ties to the president, several leading politicians, and the military.